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Editorial

Mike Pompeo’s ‘natural law’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and President Donald Trump, in a Cabinet meeting at the White House. <br/> NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Re “Trump’s human rights — and wrongs” (Opinion, July 22): So the Trump administration wants to redefine human rights to be in line with “natural law”? People need to understand that “natural law” — however benign that name may sound — is a cover for making into law the writings and opinions of Thomas Aquinas. This means that it is opposed to human rights for the LGBTQ community, opposed to same-sex marriage, and opposed to abortion rights for women, among other things. Aquinas claimed to base his opinions on nature, but he was lacking in the knowledge of the natural world that modern biologists possess. Biologists can tell you that gay and lesbian relationships, transsexuality, trios, spontaneous abortion, and all manner of sexual and child-rearing arrangements are found in nature and are therefore natural, even though Aquinas called them “unnatural.”

In short, “natural law” is unscientific nonsense. A 13th-century Catholic priest has no business defining US policy, and “natural law” directly contradicts constitutional separation of church and state. In short, “natural law” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Don’t fall for it.

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Abby Hafer

Bedford

The writer is the author of “The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not.”